Entertainment: Starting as a Succubus, Taking Hollywood by Storm

The next morning, Martin woke up at 8:00 a.m. and boarded a rented Rolls-Royce to head to the Sertan oilfield.

His original plan was to set off the previous day, but the two unexpected visitors had delayed his schedule by a day.

Seated in the car, Martin's thoughts lingered on the conversation from the day before.

"Building a petrochemical base in Xiamen's Haicang and Zhangzhou?"

The proposal from the two Chinese embassy staff seemed oddly familiar.

That evening, after searching through his memories of Martin's life in China, he realized that this was reminiscent of the "Canghai Plan" from years ago:

In November 1989, Wang Yongqing, the head of Formosa Plastics, accompanied by his family, returned to the Chinese mainland via Japan for the first time.

During the trip, Wang proposed an investment plan that greatly excited the Chinese government.

The core of this plan was a $7 billion petrochemical project that included integrated refining and petrochemical facilities (upstream and midstream), along with a power plant, shipping fleet, and even a hospital.

After negotiations, 15,000 hectares of land spanning Xiamen's Haicang and Zhangzhou were allocated for the project, with Chinese authorities pledging $300 million to jointly establish a petrochemical zone with Formosa Plastics.

Because of its location, this initiative was named the "Canghai Plan."

By November 6, 1992, the negotiations were almost finalized. However, due to interference from Taiwan, the plan was canceled at the last moment.

Now, the Chinese side had resurrected this plan, offering the same plot of land to attract Martin's Campbell Oil. The conditions were so enticing that Martin was immediately intrigued.

The offered incentives were extraordinary—those nearly free plots of land alone would see their value skyrocket in twenty years, recouping the entire investment and more.

Wang Yongqing, in Martin's view, had been shortsighted. Perhaps he never truly intended to invest in the mainland and only used the "Canghai Plan" as leverage to push Taiwan authorities to approve his "Sixth Naphtha Cracking Plant" project.

The "Sixth Naphtha Cracking Plant," similar in scope to the "Canghai Plan," was a massive petrochemical project. With limited resources, Formosa Plastics had to choose one.

As was typical of Formosa's cost-cutting ethos, the "Sixth Naphtha Cracking Plant" was notorious for severe pollution. Taiwan authorities were hesitant to approve it, resulting in lengthy delays.

Wang retaliated by proposing the "Canghai Plan" to the mainland, forcing Taiwan to accelerate its review process and lower environmental standards, ultimately approving the Sixth Plant.

In hindsight, the Chinese government had been used as a bargaining chip.

Still, Martin believed Wang's decision to antagonize the Chinese mainland for short-term gain was a mistake, as it meant losing access to the vast Chinese market.

This misstep paved the way for China's state oil giants to grow, eventually surpassing Formosa Plastics and becoming global Fortune 500 enterprises.

Taking over the "Canghai Plan"?

Martin barely needed to think—of course, he would.

The Chinese government's promise to purchase all the natural gas produced from his oilfield was reason enough, not to mention the land and access to an immense and untapped market.

China was entering a period of explosive economic growth—no, it had already begun.

Industrial expansion would drive astronomical demand for chemicals and energy. This was a surefire, lucrative investment.

As for potential objections from the Bush administration, Martin wasn't concerned. Relations between China and the U.S. had already soured following the U.S.'s invasion of Afghanistan. By 2002, Bush had revived the "China Threat Theory," pushing bilateral ties to a low point.

But Martin, as capital personified, didn't care about Bush's opinions. In the U.S., government served capital, not the other way around.

The car stopped at the port, and Martin had made up his mind—he would take the "Canghai Plan"!

David Scott jogged over to open the car door for him.

[GodOfReader: I have removed half of the chapters due to offensive languange use to india.]